Harry Potter and the Moment of Crossover
by seannetfiction
Summary: Voldemort has returned but Harry's scar doesn't sense him and his memories are different. To defeat him, Harry and his friends must enter a world where Snape is reliving his life... and married to his mother! How will Snape deal with his old life calling him to return for one more mission? Crossover with Sindie's "The Moment It Began" characters. JK Rowling owns all HP characters.
1. Chapter 1: Voldemort's Final Horcrux

Author's Note (A/N): This is a story I've had in mind since reading Sindie's original story on this site. I always wanted to know what would happen if the Snape of that story was confronted with people in his first life again and vice versa. I hope I can do JK Rowling and Sindie justice in this crossover. All Harry Potter characters are owned by JK Rowling.

These early chapters are going to deal mostly with the Lord Voldemort killed at the end of "The Moment It Began" by Severus and Tobias Snape. I felt his survival would be a good way to connect the two worlds and create the opportunity for a crossover with the original HP-universe. The first chapters will be very expository because I am trying to set up everyone's emotional states and the means of dimensional travel, but I promise that once the story gets going we'll get into some character and dialogue-driven action. Hope everyone rates and enjoys!

**Chapter 1 – Prologue, Part I**

He woke up with a start, but before he could even begin to process what had just happened, he felt a sharp pain all over his body.

Lord Voldemort was in a state of complete agony, and he suddenly realized he could barely move.

_Wait, where the hell is my body_?

And then the last few hours of his life hit him. He had been killed… by a muggle with a muggle weapon.

He had tried to hit that horrible Mudblood wife of Severus Snape with a Killing Curse, but she ducked behind a couch. Before he could even set up another attack, he heard two bangs, and that was it. He knew from the desperate attacks from some muggle police officers that the sound had been a gun, and that he had felt two bullets pierce him before going out.

Had he been anyone else in the world, that would have been the end, but thankfully for him, he had taken preparations. When he realized that Snape and Dumbledore had been destroying his Horcruxes – pieces of his soul to tie his spirit to the mortal realm, effectively granting him immortality – he knew he needed an ace in the hole.

He had always meant to create a seventh piece to his soul, as seven was regarded as the perfect magical number, and was searching for the Sword of Gryffindor to place the final piece inside of it. But knowing that all his protection was gone, he got desperate.

After checking on the fifth and final Horcrux location, to complete failure, he captured a female snake, who received the name Nagini. She was smaller and less vicious as he'd have wanted, but the situation didn't leave him much time to be picky, and while she wasn't as dangerous, her lethal poison and reptilian elegance were more than enough to leave him comfortable in his decision.

While searching for Snape's house in Spinner's End, he killed a bystander, and through the ritual he had been preparing since first discovering the loss of a Horcrux, he created one final layer of protection for himself in Nagini. He finally found Snape's house, and before bursting through the door, he Apparated her into a location in the Forbidden Forest where his Death Eaters had occasionally met with him.

But even all that trouble couldn't have prepared him for what he was now going through. He was in spiritual form. He now began to wonder how much time had passed. He had been shot, so supposedly he should have been around his body. And then he saw it.

In an effort to ensure no trace of him remained, his body (or what remained at this point) was on fire and Dumbledore was watching intently with about a half-dozen Aurors to ensure nothing went wrong.

_Dumbledore, you will pay. You, and all of that Snape's disgusting family will suffer dearly for this._

Or would they? It was becoming very clear now that this had been prophesized beforehand, and despite all his attempts to prevent the fate he was living, he nonetheless was only alive because of an eleventh-hour move that he was glad to not have waited any longer on making.

He then realized that the same had happened in Snape's previous life, when he had invaded Lily Evans' mind. He saw Snape die, and although he was only in her mind briefly, he saw Snape telling her that a boy had killed him in that life as well, meaning the Horcruxes were no match for the forces of the universe.

_Or is it just one universe?_

Suddenly, an idea on how to finally gain full control and power on Earth was being formulated, although he knew that what he was about to try would take a long time to put together. But first things first, he NEEDED a body, and he needed to find one before he started to weaken.

It was too dangerous to attack anyone with Dumbledore in direct sight, and he knew that he couldn't tip any more people than was absolutely necessary given what he was going to try to do.

But he did realize that he was in the Ministry of Magic, which meant he could go out into Whitehall and find someone to take over. He moved in spiritual form as quickly as he could and rested in an alley. He waited for hours, and then he saw his chance.

A young man, who was clearly an intern at the MoM, was leaving the building and no one within about 30 feet, and he saw his chance. Using a tremendous amount of will, he knocked over a garbage can. _That shouldn't have exhausted me so much, I need to move quickly before I get weaker. _When the boy came over to look, he dove for him and fought for control. He could feel a fight going inside his mind, but because he had no idea what was happening, Voldemort was able to quickly take control and influence the boy's mind.

It was then that he realized that he could see, but it was from the back of the intern's head. Sensing this would be a problem, he quickly grabbed the hood of the cloak and concealed himself.

"Oi! What are you doing over there boy?" a gruff voice asked.

_Say you were looking for something in the trash. SAY IT!_

"I was looking for something I left in the trash. Can't find it, though," the possessed intern said.

Voldemort was more than satisfied at this development, as he now had a body to work with. Part of him wanted to track down his Death Eaters immediately, but the Dark Mark wouldn't be sent out until he was in corporeal form, and what he was now planning required him to be as hidden from the world as he could afford to be. No one could know that he was alive until he was ready to do what he was planning to do.

After searching the intern's mind, he discovered his name was Elphir Frode, and he had moved to Britain after completing his years of education at Durmstrang. He lived alone, and Voldemort was thankful for that. _I can conduct all my business in secret now. _He decided that after three days he would send a resignation letter to the MoM, claiming he had found an opportunity back home that he wanted to pursue. He'd been there a couple of months, and he was working during what people believed to be the end of a wizarding war, so it wouldn't be all that surprising that he was receiving an opportunity.

As he sat with the body that now only lived because he existed in it, he thought about what he'd need to regain an actual, permanent body. _Bone of the father, flesh of a servant, blood of an enemy. _This part of the plan was easy enough. The non-human ingredients were easy enough to accrue, and he had access to the bones of his father from his grave.

He'd normally just do the ritual there, but as he thought about it. He wanted to carry out the second part of his plan immediately after reviving his body, so it would have to be done in the Department of Mysteries when the time was right. The next morning, he Apparated to one of his own old hideouts where he kept potion ingredients and gathered the ingredients needed to start the brew. Later that night, he went to his father's grave site and dug up the grave, taking enough bone fragments to guarantee the potion would react to them.

Flesh of a servant wasn't a difficult prospect, but it was one that must be handled with care. If any of his followers spread word that he might be alive, the Auror forces and Order of the Phoenix would make his ability to move much, much more dangerous. He thought of who he could use, and then settled on Augustus Rookwood. He had been loyal to him as a spy in the Department of Mysteries, and more importantly, he had told him many of the objects in the DOM, specifically one that he was fairly sure was necessary to complete his plan.

After a few days (in which he killed some unicorns to use their blood to maintain his strength), he Apparated to the home of Rookwood, who lived a few miles northwest of Whitehall. He waited until he heard the door open.

"What do you want? I recall seeing you around the Ministry. Why are you here?" Rookwood sounded guarded and Voldemort knew he had his hand ready to pull out his wand and go on the attack.

Instead of Frode's mouth, Voldemort spoke from the back of his head. "Ah, Rookwood. Ever the defensive one. I have something I need you to do." And with that, he turned around and removed the hood, and he now looked upon the utterly terrified face of Rookwood.

"M-m-m-my L-Lord! Is that you? What has happened to you?"

"Yes, Rookwood. As I had told you and all my followers, I have taken steps to ensure my survival. This is a most unfortunate side effect, but it is merely a temporary solution."

And with that he forced his way into the flat, as he didn't want to be out in the open for longer than was absolutely necessary.

Rookwood found his voice and asked, "It is an honor that you've chosen to come here, my Lord. I will notify the others at on-"

"NO!" Voldemort thundered. "I do not want anyone to be aware of my presence just yet."

"But why? We who spied for you need to have strength in numbers. It will only be a matter of time until the Death Eaters captured will be offered deals to name names." Rookwood sounded nervous.

"What happens to those not loyal to me is not my concern. I am around you now, and you'll be protected as long as I am with you. I am in need of your service, Rookwood. I have two tasks that you will need to ensure my ability regain a proper body and regain control of the war."

"But why me, my Lord. I believed myself to be a useful spy, but there were many others stronger than I?"

"Your knowledge in the Department of Mysteries will be key in both circumstances. You should consider yourself honored to be of such use to my noble mission."

"I-I am, of course! What is it you need?"

Voldemort decided to get the more immediate mission suggested first. "In order to regain my corporeal form, I need a regeneration potion. I have all the ingredients but two: flesh of a servant and blood of an enemy. I can receive both from you."

"My flesh?!" Rookwood was now becoming very alarmed.

"You will not need to kill yourself. As I said, no harm will come to you as I need you right now."

Rookwood looked more at ease. "And blood of an enemy."

"I could get blood from anyone who opposed me, but I'd like you to retrieve blood from that Mudblood wife of Severus Snape."

"How would I do that?"

"It doesn't need to be a lot, but it needs to be done discreetly. I want no one to become aware of my plans to regain a body until I am back at full strength. I want the potion to be given in the Department of Mysteries, of which you have access, and it is there that I ask a second task of you."

"Of course, my Lord," Rookwood said, although now very curious of what would be needed in the DOM. "What would you have me do?"

"I won't need it done for some time. I need to find something important before I can return." Voldemort wanted to make sure he committed Rookwood for this project long-term, as even he wasn't sure how much time it would take to find the potion recipe he needed.

Rookwood was surprised to hear that the Dark Lord didn't want to return immediately, but he complied. "Of course, my Lord, but if I may ask again, what is it you will need me to do?"

Voldemort smirked a little at this and said, "I am going to need to have access to the Veil of Death."


	2. Chapter 2: The Veil of Death

A/N: Prologue ends here! We get into the Harry Potter world from the books after this one, so I'm excited. I entered this with a mindset that Voldemort was going to be discreet. Crossing dimensions isn't exactly something you want the rest of the world following you in on. And no, Voldemort will NOT be making more Horcruxes in the intervening period between Chapters 2 and 3 for reasons that will be explained later on. Don't worry, there is a plan!

**Chapter 2: Prologue, Part II**

"The Veil of Death?"

"Yes, I will need to enter it in order to complete my plan," Voldemort said.

Rookwood was, to say the very least, surprised. No one really had any idea what the Veil did besides separate the living realm and the realm of the dead. There was a reason only Unspeakables were supposed to know of its existence. There was really only one thing you could do with it – go through it – and no one had any idea what would happen because any who go in don't come back out.

"Sir, you know that that's incredibly dangerous."

"Are you suggesting you don't trust my judgment, Augustus," Voldemort said, with only enough of an edge to his voice to give Rookwood the idea that an Avada Kedavra was imminent.

Rookwood started to cower, "N-n-n-no, my lord. I w-was just s-s-suggesting I would be scared to go through it when no one has come back through the other side."

At this, Voldemort choked back a chuckle. "Rest assured, Augustus, that I am _not_ like you and that much like how I have kept myself alive despite the world believing otherwise, I will have prepared myself to be invincible to the Veil when the time comes."

"Really? How?" Rookwood was now genuinely curious. How could Lord Voldemort, brilliant as he was, have a failsafe to stop the Veil of Death when all but a select few are even aware of its existence?

"That is really not your concern. But rest assured, you will be the only one who sees it when the time comes."

Rookwood beamed at the knowledge that he would be granted such exclusive knowledge of the most powerful Dark wizard in the world. After being given the plan on how to move forward with getting the 'blood of an enemy,' Voldemort covered his head with the hood, and Frode's possessed body left with him and made the move for his flat.

* * *

The reason Voldemort had not given his full plan to Rookwood was not only because of his lack of confidence in his subordinates. In all honesty, he only had a vague idea of what he needed to do. It was something he had only head about only once.

He had been just barely out of school, and only had created one Horcrux, then-Tom Riddle had begun recruiting interested wizards to join a Pureblood supremacy movement. He had heard a variety of spells in his travels, but none had the appeal of immortality that the Horcruxes had.

But when he had read Lily Evans's mind and discovered the truth – that the Severus Snape of this world had died in another lifetime and was now reliving his life – a spell he had only heard of once in passing had come into his mind.

Over the next few weeks, Voldemort had Frode read through an endless array of spellbooks, trying to find a description anywhere in the plethora of texts. He had been by libraries as well and broken in after hours trying to go through the more restricted titles, looking for anything resembling the spell, to no avail.

While Voldemort's plan needed something resembling a direction to continue, Rookwood's plan was simple. And he made sure to do it as quickly as he could.

A mere week and a half after talking with the Dark Lord, he felt he had a good way to sneak off a few drops of blood from his victim. He had initially thought that a kidnapping would be ideal, but seeing as Voldemort wanted to wait for the "right moment" to take his body back, and given that he wanted absolutely no chance of being found out, he had determined it was best to injure her and collect the blood.

Obviously, neither man would shed a tear if the Mudblood wife of the man who nearly killed him was taken out, but her death would definitely not go unnoticed, with the family now being of near-celebrity status. Still, one could hope the accident would have an adverse consequence.

* * *

Lily Evans was walking down the hallway of the Ministry of Magic on Thursday afternoon. She had been trained during the week on how to handle the Time Turners.

She already knew what they did, but now they wanted to teach her proper handling. Evidently, the older ones turned much easier and had to be destroyed, but had to be handled delicately so as to not inadvertently send the person back. That was literally the only interesting thing that could be taken from nearly a week of training on the handling of dime-sized necklaces with the power to turn time backwards.

Honestly, the whole concept of going back in time was not really of any interest to her. She already knew that it had been possible and that unlike the Time Turners, which by rule must not be used to alter the past, her husband had been sent back in time with the specific intent to alter the past.

Although neither truly understood how such a thing happened, what Lily Evans Snape was truly grateful for was the fact that the bit of divine intervention had allowed her a wonderful husband, a renewed relationship with her sister and a wonderful now-1-year-old boy named Evan.

But having time to mull this over was only being granted because she was being checked out for any serious damage by the building's medical staff. It had been so weird…

_Lilly had been less than 50 feet of the office when a man, behaving beyond irrationally – well, he appeared drunk, so maybe not that irrationally – started screaming at her that she was responsible for all the messes of his life. She was about to tell the idiot off, but then he reached from under his cloak and shot out a cutting charm that sliced a fair-sized cut in her leg._

_It was the shortest duel in history, as Lily immediately fired a stunning spell, disarmed him as he was responding, and then for good measure kicked him in the groin. 'Sometimes the muggle way really is more satisfying._

_As the adrenaline wore off, she began to notice the sharp pain, but thankfully one of her co-workers saw the whole thing._

_"Allow me, Mrs. Snape."_

_"Oh, that's fine, Augustus. I can cast the healing charm myself. It's not very deep."_

_"Eh, I could use the practice anyway. It was one of my weaker spells in school anyway."_

_"Oh, what house were you?"_

_"Slytherin."_

_"Maybe you and my husband would have gotten on well," Lily chuckled._

_"… Maybe. Anyway, I'm just going to wipe the blood away._

_"You don't need to –"_

_"Like I said, I'm not as good and need a clear view of what I'm charming."_

_"I'm beginning to worry you'll make this worse."_

_Rookwood laughed. Lily didn't realize he had considered feigning incompetence to do just that, but figured that while Voldemort might not mind, it would be unwise to draw attention to himself here, especially if the drunkard he'd used the Imperius Curse on was able to tried to claim his alcoholism wasn't to blame for this attack._

_He healed the injury to a believable enough level. Lily shrugged and perfected what was left so that the cut area looked more natural. She didn't notice Rookwood set the cloth with still unabsorbed blood on it atop his bag._

The healers on hand checked to make sure that nothing required additional attention and determined that the two Unspeakables did well enough and no emergency calls were needed.

"Thank Merlin! I'd rather Sev not have a reason to wage a vendetta on bar drunkards. He's dealt with enough of those in his life," Lily joked, hoping they wouldn't pry into her husband's childhood home life.

"Well as I said, you're fine, so back to work with you! Send Severus my well-wishes!" the mediwitch said with a smile.

"Thank you. I'm sure he'll appreciate that." And with that Lily went right back to her life blissfully unaware that something was amiss.

* * *

Lord Voldemort's patience was wearing thin. He had been through so many texts in the last few weeks that both his eyes and the intern he was possessing were having a hard time seeing straight.

He wanted to re-enter his body, and he now could do so at any time, but returning without the potion? Worthless effort.

For Voldemort, this had become more than a struggle for power in the wizarding world. If the memories he stole could be believed, he had fallen to two teenage half-bloods in two different timelines. The prophecies he had tried so hard to stop had gotten to him anyway.

And it is because of these facts that he didn't act with his same usual aggression. It's why he played more now for timing than ever before. This was no longer just a battle for control of the wizarding world; it was about mastering control over the fates, Dumbledore, these half-blood teenagers, and the universe itself.

Finally, after his second passing through the same materials, he had his breakthrough. He thought back to the night when he and the former Slytherin's had been swapping stories about their greatness – the night he heard about the potion. The night had devolved into sharing rumors about Salazar Slytherin's brilliance, and he remembered that was when he's heard it.

That meant the notes were probably in Slytherin's personal notes, which were in Marvolo Gaunt's shack. He apparated immediately to the shack, went to the collapsed bookshelf of the dilapidated building, and opened the hidden panel in back. And after 20 minutes, he finally found what he was looking for: The Cross-Dimensional Travel Potion.

Voldemort had never known the details of the potion (he only remembered the rumor that Slytherin had found a way to master time with the Veil of Death), and as he read through the notes, it was clear why no one else had thought it could possibly be real.

Apparently this potion's lone application had been used to help someone who claimed they were reliving their life and wanted to return. It was so complex that Slytherin had required the assistance of Rowena Ravenclaw and her diadem. The ingredients alone were rare and would need months to be gathered, but it was the most important ingredient that made this travel so hard: A memory from another universe.

Luckily for Voldemort, he had invaded Lily Snape's mind and gotten a glimpse of a Pensieve memory of the end of Severus Snape's original life. And with this memory, the book said, "it should allow the person walking through the Veil to bypass the world of the dead and enter the other universe.

_Should._

Even Slytherin and Ravenclaw didn't know for sure that the potion had worked, so there was no guarantee this would succeed. But it had to. He was meant to rule, and this was his way of ruling over… everything.

* * *

After nearly eight months of gathering ingredients, the night finally came. Voldemort had finally left the body he had been possessing and now waited for the Regeneration Potion to be completed.

"_Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son! Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed,"_ Rookwood said as he tossed part of his ear into the potion, "_You will revive your master. Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."_

Voldemort immediately dived his soul into the cauldron. After a few moments, he stepped out of the potion with his body fully restored, although his eyes now had a red quality to them thanks to the regeneration.

"I thank you for your loyalty, Rookwood. And now, after months of waiting, the time has come for me to leave this world."

Rookwood's jubilant expression was now one of utter confusion. "Leave the world, my lord?"

"Yes, I'm afraid. You see, over the last few months, I have made a discovery that will allow me to use the Veil of Death to send me into a new world to conquer."

"… But why not this one, my lord? I mean, you are already here," Rookwood said, now concerned the Regeneration messed with Voldemort's sanity.

"Are you questioning my decisions, Rookwood?" Voldemort asked pointedly.

"N-n-no, of course not! Would you like me to summon your followers to join you?"

"No. As a matter of fact, I want no one to know about this, and I regret saying that you are now a liability in my plans."

"W-what are you-"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort shouted, and with that, Rookwood lifelessly fell to the floor.

After removing any and all evidence of people's presence in the room, Voldemort finally took the Cross-Dimensional potion. Putting any doubts about its success away, he stepped up to the Veil of Death, breathed deeply, and passed through.

Less than a minute later, Voldemort found himself outside the Veil, and wondered if everything had worked. His question was answered immediately after he saw the layout of the room had been slightly altered and, of course, the calendar date: May 4, 1998.

It was now nearly two decades later, and it was clear that this world could not be the same. After checking on Nagini, who Voldemort decided could not be left alone in his previous world, he decided to pay some visits to his former Death Eaters in this world.

He assumed his Dark Mark wouldn't work in a new universe, and even if it did, matters like this deserved a… personal touch. _The Dark Lord will soon have his vengeance on two worlds._


	3. Chapter 3: Mysteries in the Ministry

A/N: The first real chapter and we get some Harry/Ginny moments! Some of you may not get the whole graduation tangent. I'll explain: There was a really long comment debate over whether it was a plot hole in "TMIB" that Hogwarts held a graduation ceremony even though it was in Britain.

Here's how I see it: Although British schools generally don't hold commencements, they aren't unprecedented and are quite common at the university level. Given that there's never been an established magic school level in the British Wizarding World higher than Hogwarts, plus the fact that the school is run by Gryffindors, who were established in the books to be naturally celebratory, I see no reason not to believe Dumbledore and McGonagall would try to squeeze one more massive celebration out of the year. In the Harry part of this story, the ceremony is established as having been abandoned at some point during/between the wars and McGonagall only brought it back once Voldemort was clearly defeated.

**Chapter 3: Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic  
**

Harry Potter woke up one morning in early June, one day after what had been a long, fruitless Auror expedition. It still felt unusual for him to wake up after a night of uneventful sleep. For years, he had gone to bed with a fearing of uneasiness, fear that he might go back into the mind of Lord Voldemort or have a vision of his friends in danger.

Even in the summer immediately following the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry wasn't entirely comfortable sleeping. The ordeal of being connected to the Dark Lord may have been over, but Harry still had to deal with a tremendous amount of survivor's guilt. Remus, Tonks, Fred, Dobby, Sirius, Dumbledore, and even Snape. The list of people in his life who had done so much for him but had nonetheless died was definitely a daunting problem.

It was nothing that every other person who lived through the battle probably didn't feel as well, but for Harry, there were other dimensions at play in his mind. In the months following, he felt additional guilt about having access to the Resurrection Stone. He had gotten to see some of the people who meant a lot to him, even if they were only spirits held to the living world by the stone's magic. He received a degree of closure with Sirius, Remus, and most importantly, his parents that no one else could have.

There were times where he wished that he could do the same for the Weasleys, for Ginny. And although he left the stone in the forest on his way to meet Voldemort, part of him thought it was possible to find it again for them. Try as he might, the path a person walks on the way to their own death is hard to forget, and Harry wouldn't be surprised if he could completely retrace his steps and come across the stone again.

But that was a psychological trip he really didn't want to head down, and it wouldn't do all that much for his friends anyway. Maybe that was the bigger source of his guilt. Those who died in battle couldn't come back no matter what. Even if Harry hadn't known it at the time, he had a choice after he died. He had a choice to return or to "board a train," as Dumbledore put it, and go on to the afterlife. He could have been at peace.

Part of him felt bad that he had such an opportunity when so many deserved that chance. But an even bigger part had to wonder whether he had made the right choice. Harry spent about a month debating this, over which he had many nights of inconsistent sleep, if any at all.

It had been Ginny who kept him going during that summer and got him back to his old self. She spent many of those nights sitting downstairs at the Burrow awake with him. No doubt she was feeling grief about the losses too, Fred especially. But Ginny was so strong in those months, focused on Harry and it… strengthened his resolve. Just like in fifth year, when she'd been able to reach him so often when even Ron and Hermione couldn't, she was the person who could keep him sane.

One statement stuck out more than any over that time. After he had told Ginny about the fact that he had died, and his doubts about coming back, she only said one thing before heading to bed: "Well, no matter how much you may doubt yourself and how much pain you 'think' you caused, remember that no one in this world is happier than I am that you took a second chance at life."

He held on to that thought, and it gave him the strength to take on the Auror position when Kingsley Shacklebolt offered it. It gave him the strength to move into his temporary home at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. And it gave him the strength to be himself again. With that peace of mind, he got dressed and apparated to the Burrow to see Ginny for the first time since her time at Hogwarts ended.

* * *

"Harry! Good to see you, my boy!" Arthur Weasley said, taking a break from trying to repair – or dissect, as it was hard to tell given its state – a motorized Muggle lawnmower he acquired.

"Hello, sir," Harry said, shaking Arthur's oil-covered hand.

"Harry it's been long enough. You can feel comfortable using Molly and my first names. Molly herself said that you could call her 'mum' if you like."

"I know, Mr. W-, er, Arthur. It's just a habit that's hard to get around."

"Well I heard Ginny and Molly up and about earlier, so I suspect they're waiting for you. Best not keep you any longer. Though, if you get a minute later, maybe you could help me figure out this new lawn device thing."

"Well I will have to go into work in a little while, but I'll try to find some time." Harry said, although he honestly was as much in the dark as Arthur when it came to the inner-workings of gas-powered engines. He walked in and was immediately greeted by one of Mrs. Weasley's bone-crunching hugs.

"Hello Harry! It's been far too long! You really must make a point of visiting more, now that you're not traipsing through Wales. Lord knows I'll have to deal with enough of that once Ginny goes off to work out in Holyhead next month with the Harpies."

"Oh so you decided on the Harpies, then?" Harry asked Ginny as they embraced and greeted each other with a kiss.

"Yes, I notified Gwenog Jones last week," she said when they finally came up for air seconds later.

"Well, it'll be nice to finally have a favorite Quidditch team to root for during the season."

"And I'm thrilled that it won't be my brother's Chudley Cannons."

Both had to laugh at the expense of Ron's once-great, now-incompetent favorite Quidditch club.

"Now, now. There will be plenty of time to talk while you're at the table, but it's time for breakfast," Molly said, guiding them to the table.

"Thanks, er, Mum," Harry said with Arthur's words in mind. Mrs. Weasley beamed as she filled two very large plates for the couple.

After they had nearly finished their first plate (and Mrs. Weasley refilled it), Ginny asked, "So did you end up finding anyone in Wales?"

Harry replied, "No. It's really getting odd. In the last year, so many of the old Death Eaters who got away in the rush after the battle have just up and vanished. Some of the aurors are starting to relax and feel certain they all went to mainland Europe. But it's been too gradual, I think. They'd have a better chance leaving in a group. Something tells me they're recruiting and organizing for something, and Kingsley agrees with me."

"So do I, but whatever it is doesn't seem to be happening quickly. Professor Moody would be yelling about 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE' if he heard about your auror force," Ginny grinned at the memory of Mad-Eye. "It's a shame you couldn't have put off the expedition when you got that tip. You missed Hogwarts holding its first graduation ceremony in quite a few years."

"I was actually surprised to hear that that was happening. The muggle schools around where I lived didn't have ceremonies like that."

"You also lived in one of the dullest muggle neighborhoods in the world. Besides, you remember Gryffindor house at Hogwarts. If wizards, especially those led by Gryffindors, see a reason to celebrate, they'll take the opportunity," Ginny said.

"True. And believe me, I'd have loved to see you and Hermione and Luna graduate over staking out those Welsh cottages for a month."

Ginny nodded, and then whispered when she knew her mom was out of earshot, "Are the Malfoys still safe?"

"I had Kingsley check personally. They're fine, but they pretty much prove why I'm concerned. They wouldn't have asked to go into hiding if they weren't sure that something was being organized."

"They're probably also worried about whether this new Death Eater organization will want revenge for the family's decisions toward the end of the war."

"What Draco did was out of guilt and what his mother did was out of love," Harry said, "two qualities the Death Eaters did not hold in very high regard."

"I imagine they can't like being in such a secluded location with only muggle villages around them," Ginny chuckled a little.

"No, they don't. But it's one of the easiest areas to secure and charm," Harry then saw his arrow on the Weasley's clock said, 'Running late.'

"Oh wow, I didn't realize how far along the day was. I have to file a report with the aurors and see if there are any new leads."

"Already? Well, all right. I was going to go see how Ron and George were doing with the joke shop. I think Hermione will be there as well, so it should be an interesting day."

"I actually think I'm starting to miss Ron and Hermione's arguing. I'll have to come say hello tomorrow. See you after work?"

"Of course!" Ginny then kissed him again as he got up and headed out. Ginny finished eating, and after checking how she looked once more, she apparated to Diagon Alley to see her brothers.

* * *

Lily Snape walked into the Ministry of Magic to begin her Friday of work. She went into the elevator, got off on her floor and went about the morning of work unaware of what had happened in the Department of Mysteries just a few short hours before.

It was clear something was amiss, however, when the she and the rest of the Unspeakables were asked to meet just before lunch with a few of the Aurors. Lily wasn't exactly sure what the meeting could be about, but at the same time, her mind was elsewhere and she only wanted the meeting to get done quickly. She had been running late today, and had to skip breakfast in order to get her son, Evan, over to her parents. It was hard to believe that Evan would be having his first birthday party during the weekend. That planning alone had been an extra bit of stress.

Regardless, her focus now was on her hunger, and she wanted nothing more than to leave for a little while to meet Severus for lunch. As she entered the meeting, she immediately recognized two of the aurors from her time with the Order of the Phoenix: Edgar Bones and Frank Longbottom. Longbottom was the one who started the meeting.

"Hello everyone. I'll get right to the point since I'm sure you're curious. Our questioning of former Death Eaters has finally provided us enough evidence to confirm our fears that Augustus Rockwood had been spying for Lord Voldemort while working as an Unspeakable."

There was an audible gasp from virtually everyone in the room. Lily herself was surprised by this knowledge. Though she had only been in contact with him a few times, he seemed like a completely cordial person, certainly not a spy for a group that hated muggleborns like herself.

"We have had our suspicions for a few weeks now, but it's taken a while to find a Death Eater who knew him and could provide testimony to confirm our suspicions. Unfortunately, that's not the only problem we have.

"Last night, your department appears to have been broken in to. We suspect Rockwood himself committed the deed. The guards who would be guarding the areas en route to his office and to the Department of Mysteries all show signs of being confounded or Obliviated. Additionally, we were able to charm his keys a week ago when he was being suspected of being a spy, and there's a trace on one lock in the DOM: the Death Chamber."

"Does anyone know what he might have been doing in the chamber in the middle of the night?" Bones asked. "Could he have left something in there of note?"

"I don't think there would be anything, as someone checks out each chamber once a day at least," Lily said after no one responded immediately, "and outside of that, the only thing of note is the Veil of Death, which would serve no purpose to him because none of us have any evidence suggesting someone can survive after going through it."

"Well if that's the case, then it may be the case that he tried to escape the mounting pressure," Bones replied. "The door was still unlocked this morning, according to your department's leadership, and even though the Aurors have staked out all his most frequented locations, he hasn't been found."

"We can't stop looking yet, but it is looking like he may have gone through the Veil by his own will," Longbottom said somberly. "In any case, Lily has pretty much answered what we expected was the case. Otherwise, this meeting was to simply inform you of these developments. Good day to you all."

Everyone began to leave, but now these new developments were on Lily's mind. To have had a spy in such close quarters for so long was unsettling, but then again, she knew someone who knows all about that kind of situation.

Though Unspeakables were not supposed to divulge even the most basic information to anyone but high ranking Ministry officials (and serious details to only the Minister himself), in this situation it seemed clear to Lily that she would need to talk to someone about Augustus Rockwood and his Death Eater motivations. She'd have to talk to someone who had lived as a double agent for years and might understand his motivations.

She needed to speak to her husband.


	4. Chapter 4: Faux Floo and Wizard Wheezes

A/N: Ok, so this chapter is admittedly a lot of back-and-forth that is more comedic insult battles than anything else, but I figured it would be best to get most of the characters re-introduced and give you a glimpse of their lives before things get heavy in the next chapter. Besides, it gives me a chance to get the characters' mindsets set up. Some of you may notice a heavy Gryffindor vs. Slytherin vibe here, and that's because I wanted to establish that while there is a tolerance between the houses at the moment, the biases against each other are not completely broken, which is something I plan to explore a bit as we get into the actual crossover. In closing, enjoy the fun character-driven chapter because things are going to start escalating soon!

P.S. If any of you are on Pottermore, I am user CrimsonSpell4214, assigned to Hufflepuff house. I'm still fairly new to it so if you want to friend me there, feel free. I'll probably be posting updates as to chapter progress there, so you can get a feel for how far along I am. Thanks to all you who are reviewing! I just got the chance to read through them, and the help is much appreciated.

**Chapter 4: Faux Floo and Wizard Wheezes**

"Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"

Severus Snape vented to himself in an empty restroom on the third floor of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. This had been an unusually frustrating day as his Healer training program was giving on-the-job training by having him try making diagnoses and then giving them to the actual healer to double-check.

This wouldn't be so bad, except that the people he kept getting had incredibly basic issues, and there had been no fewer than three who had showed up with 'faux Floo' injuries because they thought they could make their own homemade Floo powder.

Severus was one of the best in Britain when it came to potions, and even he didn't try to make his own Floo powder. Because of this, he was having a hard time keeping calm when people who clearly paid no attention in Potions class came in because they suddenly thought they could crack the code to Floo powder.

_Was there an epidemic of people becoming reckless after the war the first time? Or have there just always been this many idiots anxious to avoid paying two sickles?_

Thankfully, he didn't have to contemplate this any longer this morning. Today, he was supposed to meet Lily for lunch. Even after all these years, Lily was still able to lighten his mood. She was still the girl who brought out the best in him.

He quickly assessed himself in the mirror to make sure he looked alright, and then went to check himself out for his lunch break.

As Severus went back toward the lobby to inform his supervisor, he heard a familiar voice who he was not expecting to hear today.

"Oy Snape! There you are! Get over here!"

Severus turned around to see Sirius Black of all people in the waiting room of the first floor. He was standing with his new bride, both fresh from their honeymoon a few weeks back.

He went over and greeted them. "Hello Sirius. Petunia," nodding to his wife, who nodded back. "I haven't seen either of you in quite some time. I trust the honeymoon you took was relaxing?"

"Indeed it was, Snape. We had a great time… all kinds of fun," Sirius said as he leaned in and gave a big wink. Severus grimaced at this act, as he really had no desire to know any of what happened between Sirius and Petunia on that trip.

Thankfully, he wasn't the only one.

"Oh, honestly Sirius! I don't need my sister's husband knowing our most intimate details!" Petunia scolded.

"Fine, fine, fair point. Anyway, I know we have Evan's birthday coming up on Sunday so Petunia and I wanted to see what kind of help the Black family could provide for the party."

"Sirius likes to refer to us as 'the Black family' now because he likes to show off that he's married," Petunia explained while rolling her eyes, "though personally I think it's just because you like to stick it to your family at every opportunity with the fact that they're related to non-magical folk now."

"Can't there be multiple benefits to it?" Sirius posed innocently, prompting another eye roll from Petunia. "But honestly, I know Lily and you asked my dear wife for a little help, and I wanted to see if any other assistance is needed, seeing as he is my nephew now."

Severus still had to wrap his mind around that. The two people across from him had caused him so much grief in his first life, and even in this one they had had their run-ins. Now, though, not only were they on good terms, they were family. And even he had to admit these two were much different than the Sirius and Petunia he'd dealt with before.

Finally breaking from his musing, he said, "Nothing more will be necessary than what we requested from you. You are free to choose whatever desserts you'd like to bring, but Lily was clear in wanting a chocolate cake. The icing will be white with red trim on the outside, and the words 'Happy Birthday Evan' are to be written in pale green icing, symbolizing both Gryffindor _and_ Slytherin."

That last clause drew the groan from Sirius that Severus was hoping for. "Do we really have to do that to your son? I really don't want to see him starting down the path of the surly, greasy git so early in his life."

"You know full well from our dueling sessions a few years back that Slytherin is just as capable of producing respectable wizards as any other house. Even the Head Girl this year is from the house."

"Yeah, fine. You've made your point."

"Well if it's all the same to the two of you, I have a lunch date with Lily that I intend to keep, so I will leave you to your shopping and see you on Sunday."

"We'll see you all then. Bye Severus," Petunia said. Sirius and Severus nodded and separated.

Now that that was taken care of, Severus began to make the walk a couple of blocks over to meet Lily.

Ginny apparated to Diagon Alley after breakfast and walked over to the newly refurbished Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The joke shop had been on hiatus for the first few months after the war – mostly due to George not wanting to start up again without Fred – but it reopened just in time to sell to students preparing for the winter holiday.

Ron had taken up Fred's position in the store and was finally settling into the role of partner. He had even moved into the twins' old flat near the store with George. Hermione would most likely be by soon enough, so Ginny figured it was a good time to head in. Besides, she hadn't gotten much opportunity to talk to Ron and George without her very much since her time at Hogwarts ended.

The store looked as wild and whimsical as it did during its first run, although behind the counter now sat photos of the founders and scattered shots of all seven Weasley siblings together. The store had just opened a few minutes ago, so the store didn't have that many people in it yet. Ginny found George and Ron talking in the doorway separating the main floor from the back room and went over to them.

"Discussing what to get me for my birthday?" Ginny joked as she walked over.

"Oi Gin! You shouldn't be sneaking up on us. You might have found out about the loud, screeching rooster we're leaving for you that day… Oh, guess I ruined the surprise." George said.

"Very funny. So how is this place doing? Business must be up now that students can come by."

"You're right, Ginny. It's been a nice increase. They really seem to be enjoying our new merchandise." Ron said.

"We've actually hired a couple of people to work the register while we walk around to lend our expertise to the customers," George said.

"What? And you didn't think to ask me? I'd love the extra spending money."

"Why would we do that? You're leaving in a month and I know you won't want to work once Quidditch season starts. I still say you missed an opportunity by turning down Chudley, though," Ron said.

"Oh, you're just mad you won't get any free tickets to see them play… And that if I had signed, I'd have probably won them like six more games, bringing their win total up to, what, six?"

"HEY! Don't mock the Cannons! They have 21 titles."

"And in the time since their last one, a curse on the DADA teaching job has come and gone," George said, finding it amusing how easily Ginny can get Ron fired up.

"Oh, now you're taking her side?! We're supposed to be partners!"

"Honestly, Ron. Can't I ever walk into a conversation with you where you're not going on about something silly?" Hermione called from across the store.

"Hey Hermione! You're here early." Ron ran over to meet her and they kissed upon reaching each other, to which Ginny and George just turned around and waited for it to end.

"Well I knew Ginny was coming in today so I figured I'd take the chance to say hello to all of you."

"I was wondering when you'd finish up your grand tour of celebration. I can't believe your parents took you on a trip to New Zealand for finishing up at Hogwarts," Ginny said.

"Well when I sent them there after sixth year, they got really into life down in Oceania, so they wanted to take a look at the area again. If it wasn't such a distance, I swear they'd pick up and go there once my dad retired."

"So how was it?" Ron asked.

"I liked it. The climate was a lot cooler than I would have liked, but it's beautiful there. I understand the attraction to the area. So last time we talked, you told me your new workers weren't starting until next week. Will you all need any help?"

"Thanks, Hermione, but Ron and I have everything under control. You and Ginny can should head out and wait until lunch to come see…" Before George could finish the thought, though, a large group of about 10 kids walked in, and they knocked over two table displays in their mad dash.

"… On second thought, maybe you have a point. Are we going to do this or what?"

Hermione and Ginny smirked at each other and went to work at the cash registers while Ron and George went to maintain order throughout the store.

Ron and George had not expected any rushes this early in the summer, so they were glad to have Hermione and Ginny in place for the day. If Angelina Johnson hadn't gone with Katie Bell to visit Ireland, he'd have probably asked for a fifth pair of hands. Maybe they would have to re-open the application process.

But neither Weasley brother had time to consider that, as it was a nearly constant flow until closing time. George volunteered to lock up so that Ron could walk around outside with his sister and girlfriend.

"Well… that was a wild day," Ron said.

"I can't believe how excited your customers get for Muggle pranks and card tricks," Hermione said.

"I know! I don't see how a jar of peanut butter with a fake snake hidden inside managed to sell out faster than anything!" Ginny added.

"Well, it's the novelty really. And besides, snakes are really good for pranks. It's especially funny to see a Slytherin get scared by a snake," Ron grinned at that thought, and then sombered slightly. "Speaking of which, we'll be having a Slytherin working in our shop next week."

"Well that's not so bad. It's not like they were all bad," Ginny offered.

"I still don't trust anyone from that house. They all hid from the final battle and any Slytherin I've ever known, even when they were trying to 'help,' acted like a complete git. I only went along with George on hiring this one because he was probably the only applicant who appeared knowledgeable and willing to work."

"Maybe it's time to bury the hatchet, though, Ron," Hermione countered. "I mean, I definitely agree with you that we haven't really known any likeable Slytherins, but Harry seemed to think Draco and his mother were decent when they protected him."

"They were just protecting each other. And where even are they, anyway? Probably slunk off to Bulgaria or something…"

"Wait," Ginny interrupted, "you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Nothing."

"Do you know where they are?"

"No."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I didn't. You brought it up."

Ron threw up his hands and Ginny couldn't help but smirk a little. For years, she had been used to Harry sharing major information with Ron and Hermione only, so it was actually a new situation to know that Harry was confiding more in her than his two best friends. She beamed a little with pride knowing that their relationship had gotten this far along.

Ron was about to continue, but Hermione tugged on his arm with a degree of urgency. He looked down and saw she had taken out her old D.A. galleon, which was flashing a location. Based on the location, it didn't take any of the three a second thought to realize who was calling them over.

Harry was in danger at Godric's Hollow.


	5. Chapter 5 Part 1: Godric's Hollow

**A/N:**Sorry for the MUCH longer delay, but numerous graduations and work took up quite a bit of time. I actually still have to refine the second part of this chapter (canon Harry's part), but I do want you all to have something, so I'm putting the first half of the chapter up now. The second part will be up as soon as I finish Harry's exchange with Draco. (Something to look forward to!)

Hope you all enjoy this shorter-than-I-desired first half of Chapter 5!

**Chapter 5: Godric's Hollow**

James Potter had just finished putting his infant son back to bed for the second time that evening. It had become clear to him very quickly after his birth that although he may have had a good time being the life of the party during his Hogwarts career, he had to be more mature now that he was raising a child. He was still very much the same light-hearted person who was so popular at Hogwarts (at least as far as he was concerned), but he knew his first priority would always be Harry.

Harry had been particularly stubborn the whole night when it came to eating his dinner or staying still. All he had wanted to do was play with Remus, who was visiting that day. He liked how personable his son already was, but also wished that he was easier to keep under control.

_Runs in the family, I guess, _James thought as a smile came across his fatigued face. There may well be a second-generation Marauder running wild through school in a few years.

James went back down the stairs as Remus was walking back into the sitting room from the wash room.

The sitting room was the part of the house James was quite proud of. Seeing as he did live in Godric's Hollow, he saw fit to deck the place out with red paint and gold (or at least yellow or light brown) furniture. When he once went to spend time with his now-wife, Mary, she asked if she could pick out the furniture. There was a fairly extravagant muggle furniture store in her part of England, so they bought from there.

While there, they purchased a gold-colored couch, love seat, and two chairs, which now took up the center of the room and all sat on top of a red rug James found. It was red and had a large griffin on it. They lined the walls with two dressers, mainly because Mary thought they looked good, and a cabinet the Potters had owned for years that belonged to Godric Gryffindor himself.

James' favorite addition, though, was a yellow shag carpet that he discovered at the muggle shop. While shag carpeting had existed in other parts of the world for years, no one James's family knew had flooring like it. He loved its soft-yet-chaotic feel that resembled his hair and thought it gave the house something no one else could match.

Mary did not agree. She advised against it at first and still commented on it from time to time. She said it was difficult to keep clean, even with magic, but mostly she was aware of its prominence in the muggle world the decade before. She'd come across muggle movies at the time and felt it made the place feel too much like a place Godric Gryffindor would live in if he had been roommates with Barry White, the muggle singer.

James caught up with Remus near the doorway and said, "That kid just loves to play, and he has so much energy."

"I'm actually impressed at how good you are with him. A few years ago, I don't think you'd have been anywhere near ready," Remus replied.

"Well war does that, I guess. A bloke can't survive what we did if his skin doesn't harden at least a little."

"True. I guess we all aren't the same merry band of pranksters we were back in school, eh?"

James looked aghast. "Now wait a minute! Speak for yourself. Just because I've gotten all grown-up and such for my son doesn't mean I'm not a Marauder through and through. I'm just as capable of coming up with some of the most, "creative," solutions to problems."

"Creative is certainly one word for your ideas," Mary snidely commented from the chair as the two sat back down.

"You just wait a few years. Before Harry goes off to Hogwarts, I'm getting our map back from Filch. It'll be my greatest gift to him for school," James said proudly.

"I don't want Harry becoming a wild prankster like you all did," she said firmly. "It took you over six years to end up with me and I don't want my son scaring off all the good girls for that long."

"Oh come on! It would be great! Remus, you can't tell me we didn't have fun at Hogwarts. Even when you were at your stuffiest, you enjoyed a good prank on Snape."

"I won't deny that a lot of our time was enjoyable, and we were really creative at times," Remus had to take a moment to chuckle from the memories, "but there are definitely things we did during fifth and sixth year especially that I wouldn't want my son doing."

"Since you bring up the future of your personal life, I met some witches who just moved into town from Ulster. Mary and I thought the short redhead… what was her name? Lea, maybe? Anyway, she seemed to be a right match for you. Want me to set it up?"

"Thanks anyway, James, but I'd rather not," Remus said as his demeanor seemed to darken.

"You always say that," James said, trying to mask his frustration. This was far from the first time a conversation like this seemed to abruptly stop. "Even at Hogwarts you never really tried to flirt like Sirius and I did."

"NO ONE tried to flirt like Sirius and you did."

"True, but it was an absolute rarity for you, and I know you showed interest in girls at times. So what's the issue?"

"Is it your… condition?" Mary said, trying to approach what was clearly an elephant in the room.

"Partially. I don't know what would happen if I lost control."

"But Snape, grating as he can be sometimes, has given you plenty of wolfsbane. It's not like he'd stop," James offered.

"It isn't just the danger of losing control, though, it's what it could do in the future." Remus withdrew into himself as he said in a barely audible voice, "I could have a child who was… like me. Who had the same problems. I couldn't put a child through that."

"But there's no guarantee that that would happen," Mary said.

"Nor one that said it wouldn't," Remus said pointedly, finding his voice again. "And even if my kid didn't, too many other factors could go wrong."

"You're sounding more cowardly than I'd ever expect from you," James said.

"I'm not being cowardly. I'm being realistic!"

"So you're just going to avoid love for the rest of your life?"

Remus hesitated before he answered. He didn't know what he could say. But one thing he understood was that this decision wasn't made hastily. He had been weighing this issue more than ever since Sirius and Petunia married, leaving him as the only one of his friends without someone to share his life with. It was a lonely life, but one that he felt he had to deal with.

"It's late. I need to get home."

"Are you actually going to walk away from this conversation?" James asked as he stared unable to comprehend how his friend could be this unwilling to deal with this.

"There's nothing to run from. I'll see you later." And with that, Remus went into the fireplace and used the Floo powder to get home.

"It's a shame, really," Mary said after she and James finished preparing for bed in silence. "He's great with Harry and I think he'd be great for someone."

"But he's got a lot to work through, clearly," James said. "Sooner or later, he's got to learn that eventually, everyone's baggage comes back home to roost. You've just got to deal with it when it does."

James and Mary then climbed into bed and sought as much sleep as they could before Harry awoke again.

Remus got home and lied in bed for nearly two hours before finally getting to sleep.

Neither man had any way of knowing that Severus and Lily Snape were finding out firsthand how true James' words to Mary were.

Nor did any of them know how much the Snapes' baggage would affect them all in the morning.


End file.
